Linzi Thompson took a break from her customary environmental research projects this summer.

But it wasn’t one of relaxation and spending time on the beach.

The East Central University fifth-year senior has been spending the summer in Sitka, Alaska as an environmental health intern with the Southeast Alaska Native Health Consortium (SEARHC) which works in conjunction with the Indian Health Services to promote health for Alaskan natives.

The first Justice Rudolph Hargrave Centennial Legal Studies Scholarship at East Central University has been awarded to Holdenville sophomore Lauren Stafford, it was recently announced.

Justice Hargrave began his education at ECU before completing his law degree at the University of Oklahoma. He served as an attorney and county judge before being appointed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court by Gov. David Boren in 1978.

The family of Joe and Tammy Mankin recently donated a Conober Cable Grand Piano to the East Central University Foundation. The piano, which has been placed in the David Lockmiller Lobby in the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center, features a disc player which allows it to act like a player piano. The piano has already been used for receptions and other campus activities. “This is a beautiful piano and a wonderful gift to ECU.

East Central University will screen the award-winning play “The Audience” at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 26, in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center of the Bill S. Cole University Center.

Helen Mirren “dazzles” (Metro) as Queen Elizabeth II in this critically-acclaimed production. On Sunday, Mirren will be celebrating her 70th birthday. In honor of this occasion, ECU SCREENS will serve free birthday cake to the audience and offer free admission to anyone born on July 26.

The East Central University Foundation received a generous donation of $216,500 from the estate of Essie Roark for its scholarship program. Pictured in front are (left to right) Shirley Pogue, chair of the ECU Foundation Scholarship Committee; Keywood Deese, vice president and trust officer for Vision Bank; Phyllis Danley, executive director of the ECU Foundation and ECU President John R. Hargrave. In back are (left to right) Vicky Petete, treasurer and chair of the audit and finance committees for the ECU Foundation and Russ Allen, trustee for the ECU Foundation.

Dr. Katricia Pierson views strong relationships as the key to strengthening current programs and developing new ones.

Those efforts have led to a successful run as assistant vice president for academic affairs at East Central University since 2011. Now, Pierson takes over as ECU’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, replacing the retiring Dr. Duane Anderson.

Wendell Godwin, dean of East Central University’s Harland C. Stonecipher School of Business, has been named president and chairman of the board for the Southwestern Council of Business Schools and Programs, it was recently announced.

The Southwestern Council of Business Schools and Programs is under the umbrella of the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). The Southwest Council encompasses the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas.

East Central University's mission is to foster a learning environment in which students, faculty, staff, and community
interact to educate students for life in a rapidly changing and culturally diverse society. Within its service area,
East Central University provides leadership for economic development and cultural enhancement.